


A Work in Progress

by SabreCat



Category: Undertale
Genre: Action, Gen, Humor, Pre-Canon, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-25 03:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6178258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabreCat/pseuds/SabreCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Undyne gave Papyrus cooking lessons in hopes of redirecting his passion in a direction less likely to get him killed. This vignette depicts the moment she made that decision!</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Work in Progress

On the grounds of King Asgore's castle, the leader of the Royal Guard squared off against her opponent.

It was proving difficult to get him to actually _attack_ , though.

"Look. Papyrus. Pretend I'm a human, okay? I'm dangerous, I'm armed, I'm a threat to everyone you care about!" Undyne gave her most menacing grin and brandished her spear at Papyrus. "You HAVE to capture me. Bring it on!"

The skeleton puffed out his chest, fists on his hips. "Ahem! Human! In order to pass through the Underground, you must complete my fiendish puzzles! Fail… and you will be captured! Nyeh heh heh!" He paused and blinked, breaking character. "Ah, Undyne… where can I set up the puzzles?"

She restrained a sigh. "Let's skip that part. The human's already gotten past your puzzles. You're the only thing standing between them and a hundred innocent people! What are you gonna do then?"

"Heh heh!" Papyrus grinned. "To have bested my puzzles so easily… you must be very intelligent, human! In fact," and his eyesockets narrowed a bit, "That makes this scenario rather unrealistic!"

Undyne took a step forward, jabbing her spear toward Papyrus. "They're coming for you!"

Papyrus stretched forth a hand, his scarf flapping behind him. "Human! This is your final warning! Surrender, or face the great Papyrus in open battle!"

That was more than enough prelude. If Papyrus had faced a real threat, they'd have hit him eight times by now. Undyne broke into a run, her eye wild with focus and her spear point aimed directly at Papyrus's chest. "NGAHHH!"

To her surprise, she didn't make it to her target. Papyrus's outstretched hand swiped downward, and Undyne's body felt like it had tripled in weight. She stumbled and fell to a knee, frowning. "What the—"

"Nyeh heh heh! How's that, Und—I mean, human? Ready to surrender now?"

Undyne's wicked smile returned. "Papyrus… You know what humans' greatest power is, right?"

"Hmm." He put a hand to his chin. "The ability to solve my puzzles without even seeing them?"

"No. It's _determination!_ " With a surge of effort, she pushed herself forward in a runner's start and lunged at Papyrus, crossing the remaining distance before he could react. She collided with him, spear held crosswise in both hands, knocking him to the ground. Dragging herself back to her feet against his gravity-enhancing magic, she jabbed her spear-point down until it tapped against the costume armor covering Papyrus's chest. "Hah!"

"Wowie!" Papyrus's skull was all grin. "Human! You had the chance to hit me with all your strength, but you couldn't bring yourself to harm me! We recognize greatness in each other. Maybe humans and monsters don't have to be enemies!" His magic let go its hold on Undyne.

This time, Undyne couldn't keep from sighing. "Papyrus, that wasn't what the human would do, that was just…" She closed her eye and shook her head. Her spear vanished. "Never mind. Let's call it a day on the warrior training, all right?"

Papyrus leapt to his feet. "So, how was I? Top Royal Guard potential! When do I start?"

Undyne smiled awkwardly, hands up in a forestalling gesture. "Uh, not yet, Papyrus. You've still got some work to do." She looked at him a moment, with a sort of desperate thoughtfulness. "Maybe… maybe I just need to get to know you better. To see if you're a good fit for the team, right? We should hang o—I mean, do some other, non-warrior training too." Her mind raced through the possibilities. Physical training? Piano lessons? Then she had it. She grinned. "How would you like to learn how to cook?"

Papyrus put his hands to his face, astonished. "Cooking lessons with the leader of the Royal Guard! Amazing!" He collected himself and put a fist to his chest. "Undyne! I won't let you down! You'll see that I, the great Papyrus, make exquisite cuisine! I will be both royal guardsman and master chef!"

"Perfect. Let's meet tomorrow, same time as this, at my house."

"Aye aye! Until then, I will be at my post, watching for humans! With all this training, I'll be ready!" He gave a foppish salute, then spun on his heel and marched away.

_Oh, Papyrus._ Undyne scratched her head, watching him go. _I hope for all of our sakes that somebody else catches a human first._


End file.
